Supporters of preserving the Merchant House Museum rejoice in victory, but the battle may not be over as future demolition and construction is possible. On September 26, 2018, the City Council voted to disapprove the application for a rezoning at 27 East 4th Street in Manhattan. The Application would have allowed for an 8-story, 28-room hotel or office building with a restaurant and lobby below the second floor, with approximately 17,141 square feet of total floor area. The development site is located within the NoHo Historic District Extension, and is adjacent to the Merchant House Museum, an 1832 rowhouse that is an individual, interior, and national historic landmark. The Merchant House was the City’s first designated landmark and one of the first 20 landmarks designated in the state. It is only one of 120 interior landmarks in the City and one of only 6 residences. (read more…)

Merchant House Museum, located in the NoHo Historic District Extension. Image Credit: Merchant House Museum.

Commissioners concluded that safeguards were sufficient to protect against damage to museum, and design would be unobtrusive within the historic district. On April 8, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission conferred for the fourth and final time on the appropriateness of an approved development at 27 East 4th Street in the NoHo Historic District Extension. The planned eight-story building adjoins the Merchant’s House, an 1832 dwelling and individual and interior landmark currently open to the public as a museum. The proposed building is intended for commercial use.

Testimony at the initial September 11, 2012 hearing focused on the potential adverse impact of the development, which included potential damage to the historic interior plasterwork and the overwhelming the scale of the Merchant House. Throughout the approval process, Commissioners were both concerned about the project’s impact on the Merchant’s House, and the proposed building’s suitability for the street and the historic district. (read more…)